FARM'D shows momentum in rezoning fight in Dumont

With each day that passes in Dumont, the movement to stop redevelopment of the former D'Angelo Farms gains more momentum.

The deserted seven-acre farm looks more bleak and forlorn.

And, those charged with deciding the property's fate feel more and more pressure.

On May 20, something will have to give when the Borough Council is scheduled to vote on an ordinance to rezone the farm for inclusionary housing.

The proposed measure to amend the zoning code puts a ceiling on the maximum number of units at 86 and gives two development options: eight units per acre, with 25 percent being affordable, or 12 units per acre, with 20 percent being affordable.

The 14-page draft, which the council passed on first reading last week, is so detailed that it provides guidance as to the species of trees to be planted, the type of lighting to be used and the screening expected around trash bins, among other standards.

It also says any application for redevelopment of the farm must be accompanied by a community impact study.

But, for members of Families Advocating a Reasonable Masterplan in Dumont (FARM'D), changing the farm's zone would be conceding to the wishes of the developer.

"If we can't fight it this way - I mean, my parents are from Ireland, and we fought things a little bit differently," Kevin Hughes, of Andover Avenue, told the council last week.

"If we can't fight it one way," he added, "there's got to be another way we can fight it to make it as hard as possible for this builder to do what they want to do."

Referring to the colors often worn by the borough's sports teams, he said at last, "We all bleed brown and orange, and no one is going to stand for this."

Hughes was one of about 30 people who addressed the council at its regular meeting on April 15 at the Dumont Senior Center.

Officials moved the meeting from the borough hall because they anticipated a large crowd. About 200 people were allowed indoors, and sources say close to 50 more were kept out because of the fire code.

Opposition drummed up by FARM'D members continues to swell.

Its founders attribute the group's success to word of mouth, their presence on the web and their presence on the front lawns of more than 400 homes.

Rachel Bunin, a resident of Poplar Street and one of the group's four founders, said at least that many lawn signs were distributed as of last week, with another batch on order.

"This is the true definition of a grass-roots movement," Bunin said by phone the day after the meeting. "It has grown beyond any of our wildest expectations."

The group first met at the kitchen table of one of its founders, Lili Binney, and since that time, has organized a crusade against rezoning the farm, Bunin said.

"We fully intend to take our situation to Trenton," Bunin said. "We can't run scared because one greedy developer is threatening us with a lawsuit. Sometimes, you have to take a stand, and that's what we're doing."

In fact, the group already has heard from Trenton in the form of a letter from Sean Thompson, acting executive director of the state Council on Affordable Housing.

Thompson wrote to the group on April 14 in response to a letter two of its founders, Kathy Doherty and Lynne Vietri, sent to him, as well as to Governor Christie and other state, county and local officials.

His reply was brief - just two sentences, thanking the group and assuring its suggestions will be considered - but, Bunin said, it was a step in the right direction.

"If we rezone," Bunin said, "that's it - it's done. There has to be other mechanisms to meet our COAH requirements. The town needs to explore other options.

"And, we're not just screaming from hilltops without doing the research," she added.

FARM'D members are adamant about one thing in particular - that is, they say, they object to the housing density that would come with redevelopment of the farm. But, they say, they are not opposed to the notion of affordable housing in and of itself.

A petition delivered to officials at the meeting garnered almost 1,400 signatures from people opposed to rezoning the farm, currently designated as parkland and for public uses.

"We call for the rezoning of said property to be limited to the [residential] designation of single- and two-family homes on 75-foot-by-100-foot lots with a 28-foot height limitation," the petition states.

Bunin also praised members of Stop Overdevelopment (SOD), the grass-roots group from New Milford that for more than two years fought an application for mixed uses, including a 70,500-square-foot supermarket, on a 14-acre parcel many believe to be flood-sensitive.

Members of New Milford's group have in recent weeks given moral support to Dumont's, allowing it to use the original stop sign logo and SOD name on its signs.

Two SOD members addressed Dumont's council at the meeting.

"The reality of having to fight a builder's remedy lawsuit, which is nothing more than a developer's thug bat, is going to be a lot less in the long run than if you let this thing proceed," said John Rutledge, a SOD member.

FARM'D members have advocated for the council to wait until COAH implements new regulations before it even considers rezoning the farm, but according to officials, the lawsuit filed by the prospective developer of the property has forced their hand.

The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack on Feb. 4 by Wyckoff-based Landmark Real Estate Co., alleges the borough has failed to provide realistic opportunities for low- and moderate-income housing, seeking to impose a 40-unit-per-acre zoning requirement. It also asks the court to appoint a special master to supervise the borough's affordable housing program.

Officials say if they don't follow up by rezoning the farm, the borough stands to lose the lawsuit.

"We're between a rock and a hard place," Mayor James Kelly said, in response to a resident at the meeting.

Officials have requested the court stay the proceedings of the lawsuit because, according to the motion filed by Borough Attorney Gregg Paster, "the ripeness of the matter is still very much in question" because COAH has yet to implement new regulations.

"We really are doing everything we can for the community," the mayor added. "I've been in Dumont since 1960, and the town has changed tremendously since then - we all know that. The whole county - the whole state - is very crowded.

"Obviously, this thing would have an impact on the town. We're doing everything we can to protect the residents, especially those who live in and around the D'Angelo Farms area."

Edward Verga, of Wilkens Drive, is one of the many.

"I bought my house from my uncle 34 years ago," Verga told the governing body. "As a kid growing up in the '50s, I was there when D'Angelo sold off the chunk that was behind our houses.

"I watched my grandmother and my mother cry at barbecues, while they were building one-family houses," he added. "People who are going to back up to potentially a four-story apartment building are going to be doing a lot more than crying."

And, those who don't live near the farm also say its redevelopment would impact them.

"In the '50s, my parents' three-bedroom split had taxes that were under $400," said Anthony Nazzaro Jr., who grew up in town, and who now lives on Merritt Avenue.

Today, he said, the taxes on that same home are more than $12,000.

Nazzaro said he played as a boy where the farm abutted the railroad, copping an eggplant here and there for his father.

"For my small, two-bedroom home, taxes are over $8,000," he added. "This new problem will push it over $9,000.

"It is time these attacks on the taxpayers of Dumont stop. Taxes are enormous, and the increases are inevitable, but problems that can be avoided, of this magnitude, have to be answered with a resounding 'no.' "

FARM'D shows momentum in rezoning fight in Dumont

With each day that passes in Dumont, the movement to stop redevelopment of the former D'Angelo Farms gains more momentum.

The deserted seven-acre farm looks more bleak and forlorn.

And, those charged with deciding the property's fate feel more and more pressure.

On May 20, something will have to give when the Borough Council is scheduled to vote on an ordinance to rezone the farm for inclusionary housing.

The proposed measure to amend the zoning code puts a ceiling on the maximum number of units at 86 and gives two development options: eight units per acre, with 25 percent being affordable, or 12 units per acre, with 20 percent being affordable.

The 14-page draft, which the council passed on first reading last week, is so detailed that it provides guidance as to the species of trees to be planted, the type of lighting to be used and the screening expected around trash bins, among other standards.

It also says any application for redevelopment of the farm must be accompanied by a community impact study.

But, for members of Families Advocating a Reasonable Masterplan in Dumont (FARM'D), changing the farm's zone would be conceding to the wishes of the developer.

"If we can't fight it this way - I mean, my parents are from Ireland, and we fought things a little bit differently," Kevin Hughes, of Andover Avenue, told the council last week.

"If we can't fight it one way," he added, "there's got to be another way we can fight it to make it as hard as possible for this builder to do what they want to do."

Referring to the colors often worn by the borough's sports teams, he said at last, "We all bleed brown and orange, and no one is going to stand for this."

Hughes was one of about 30 people who addressed the council at its regular meeting on April 15 at the Dumont Senior Center.

Officials moved the meeting from the borough hall because they anticipated a large crowd. About 200 people were allowed indoors, and sources say close to 50 more were kept out because of the fire code.

Opposition drummed up by FARM'D members continues to swell.

Its founders attribute the group's success to word of mouth, their presence on the web and their presence on the front lawns of more than 400 homes.

Rachel Bunin, a resident of Poplar Street and one of the group's four founders, said at least that many lawn signs were distributed as of last week, with another batch on order.

"This is the true definition of a grass-roots movement," Bunin said by phone the day after the meeting. "It has grown beyond any of our wildest expectations."

The group first met at the kitchen table of one of its founders, Lili Binney, and since that time, has organized a crusade against rezoning the farm, Bunin said.

"We fully intend to take our situation to Trenton," Bunin said. "We can't run scared because one greedy developer is threatening us with a lawsuit. Sometimes, you have to take a stand, and that's what we're doing."

In fact, the group already has heard from Trenton in the form of a letter from Sean Thompson, acting executive director of the state Council on Affordable Housing.

Thompson wrote to the group on April 14 in response to a letter two of its founders, Kathy Doherty and Lynne Vietri, sent to him, as well as to Governor Christie and other state, county and local officials.